The First Regret
by Fortune Maiden
Summary: Hearts took getting used to. Especially for someone who lived longer without one than with it. Still, Ienzo had to start somewhere.


**The First Regret**

 _Hearts took getting used to. Especially for someone who lived longer without one than with it._

 _Still, Ienzo had to start somewhere._

* * *

 **A/N** : An Apprentice-centric fic, a week before KH3 can tell me I mischaracterized them all :D

* * *

The password to the DTD had been changed. After trying out several simple variations on the original, Ienzo fell back into the chair with a disappointed sigh.

 _So much for that plan,_ he thought with a rueful smile as two pairs of footsteps echoed behind him.

"Any luck?" Aeleus asked him, while Dilan leaned over to read the screen with a frown.

"Figures," he said.

"Yes," Ienzo agreed. "It would have been foolish of the Restoration Committee not to change the password, I suppose. They certainly made plenty of other changes to the system. The MCP is gone."

"So are we locked out completely?" Dilan asked.

"No, I have managed to access to the Hollow Bastion OS Security System, as you see here." On the computer screen, Ienzo had several images and reports open. Camera feeds from the more dilapidated parts of town, and logs from the Claymore system. Useful information to be sure, but not what they needed.

"Our research notes however, still remain out of reach," Ienzo lamented. In truth, even his access to the OS was limited to just the existing feeds and logs. He couldn't even go in to adjust the angles or generate a newer report. The elation he'd felt at finding their old computer intact quickly crumbled.

"Can you hack it?" Aeleus suggested. "You're good with computers."

Ienzo shrugged. "Good" in this case only meant that he regularly used one back in the Organization.

"I'm afraid not," he said, swiveling the chair around to face them. "For one, even with all of the upgrades put in, this is a decade old OS at this point. It's very different from the computers we had. For another, it's been too long. I can't remember any of the tricks Braig taught me anymore."

"Braig?" Dilan raised an eyebrow at the mention of their missing comrade. "What does he have to do with any of this?"

"Back then, before everything I mean, maintaining the OS was one of his responsibilities," Ienzo explained. "But Radiant Garden was… _safe,_ for lack of a better word, so it wasn't a terribly exciting job. So Braig had me watch things for him on occasion while he ran his own errands." Ienzo's eye shone mischievously. "In exchange, he showed me all of the secret routes out of the castle."

Aeleus frowned, while Dilan just rolled his eyes at the belated confession.

"Typical."

"So _that's_ how you were always able to slip by us," Aeleus said. "Ienzo—

"Don't bother. You're 12 years too late for that lecture," Dilan snapped at him impatiently. Ienzo nodded emphatically, but stopped when Dilan turned his glare to him. "So what now?"

Ienzo shrugged.

"You're welcome to take a look if you'd like. I'm sure there's plenty I missed."

"No, that's—

"There you three are," a new stern voice suddenly interrupted. Even stepped into the computer room, one hand held up to the side of his face to shield his sight from the lab he had to pass through. " _What_ are you doing here?"

Dilan grimaced at the sight of their fourth teammate and gestured for Ienzo to vacate the computer chair after all. Even would only need a moment to figure out what they were doing here, and Dilan would be grateful for the distraction when he did.

"Hello Even, how are you feeling?" Ienzo said politely, in hopes of staving off his mentor's ire.

"We _agreed_ not to come here," Even ignored him and glared at the three former-Nobodies icily. "There's nothing for us to see here."

"You don't want to see it, go back upstairs," Dilan muttered under his breath at the same moment that Aeleus pointed to the computer.

"We thought we might learn something from this."

Even jumped back in fear, throwing his arms up defensively. "What's there to learn? There's nothing in that device we wouldn't know." His voice shook slightly.

"Well, it's been over a decade, and the Restoration Committee has been using it," Ienzo explained. "And I thought perhaps Ans—er, Xehanort, might have kept some of his own notes hidden away."

"All the more reason to leave it. Nothing good can come from those notes."

"Perhaps," Aeleus agreed carefully. "But it can't hurt to confirm it for ourselves."

"Where's your sense of scientific curiosity?" Ienzo tried teasingly.

"Back in the Nothing I should have stayed in," Even snapped, causing Ienzo to regret his words, Aeleus to frown, and Dilan to roll his eyes.

Sometimes he missed being Xaldin. The thought ran through his mind at least once a day now, more if he had to be around the other recompleted apprentices for extended periods of time. _Especially_ if Even was one of them.

While the rest of them had mostly made their peace with it, Even still recoiled at the idea that they were whole again or that they would willingly set foot in the place that tore their humanity from them. For their part, Aeleus, and Dilan tried to give him his space. While they too had their sins to bear, and did so in their own way, their own roles in the experiments back then had been more peripheral. They had never shied away from doing what was asked but the actual experiments had always been carried out by Even, Braig, and Xehanort. Vexen hadn't possessed the ability to care, but Even now had to process that on top of his Nobody's own "research".

Dilan could hardly blame the man for panicking every time the past reared its ugly head. But if he didn't stop yelling at them about it, he would one day find a spear taking him back to the Nothing he craved.

"Dilan, shut that contraption down and come back upstairs," Even demanded. "Stab it if you have to."

"No, don't," Ienzo said. "That's years of research you're threatening to destroy!"

"I'll destroy you if you don't stop this."

"No, you won't. And I won't either!"

"Alright, let's calm down," Aeleus, ever the peacekeeper, said, stepping between the two scientists, before Even could reach Ienzo. While it was unlikely that Even would actually physically harm him, letting them continue would only cause headaches.

Since recompletion, Ienzo had proven to be… _difficult_. As a child he'd been quiet and obedient, but twelve years of Xehanort's tutelage had turned him into a confident leader of sorts. He was the one who decided that there was nothing for them to dwell on when a better use of their time was to figure out everything Xehanort kept from them, so they could figure out what he was after and plan accordingly. The sentiment was fine, and Dilan and Aeleus had little objection to helping him.

The problem was his attitude.

Or rather, his lack of it.

"The past is the past, Even," he said calmly, ducking under Aeleus' arm so that Even could see his crystal clear gaze. "You won't forget it just by ignoring anything that reminds you of it."

"And you won't vindicate yourself by going after that forbidden knowledge. Again."

"I don't understand why the pursuit of knowledge is so bad."

"The "pursuit of knowledge" got us into this mess," Even snapped. "And you never understand anything anyway."

"Even please," Aeleus warned. "Ienzo, you too. Back off, _now_."

"I understand plenty," Ienzo ignored the guard's words. "What happened to us was our own fault so I just don't see why we should care about the past, when we can look to the future."

Aeleus winced. He knew then and there that he'd lost his chance to mediate this one, and lowered his arms.

"Why should we care about the past?" Even repeated condescendingly. "Oh I don't know. It's not like we _destroyed literal worlds_ or anything of that sort. It's not _you've_ set foot outside this castle to see what remains of your beloved childhood home."

"All of those world have been restored now. And Radiant Garden is no more my home than The World That Never Was was. Beloved or otherwise."

"Of course. How could I forget? Maybe I can be bothered to care because _I_ didn't spend the entirety of my life as a _heartless emotionless_ _husk_."

"Even!"

Aeleus's admonishment came a moment too late as, having let out everything he wanted to say, Even whirled around and walked back down the hall to the study, again raising his arm to hide the view of the lab, and slammed the door on his way out.

Ienzo felt an odd prick in his heart as the cold silence remained. Dilan had stopped typing, and Aeleus had frozen facing the direction Even had left.

 _I didn't say anything wrong_ , The thought was plain on Ienzo's face, but he decided against voicing the remark. For once.

"I'd better go after him," Aeleus said softly, not turning back around.

"Yes, that's probably a good idea," Ienzo started to say but the guard had already disappeared from view before the first words were out. Unlike Even, he didn't slam the door in his wake, but they still heard it shut after a few seconds.

Dilan resumed typing as Ienzo pulled up another chair next to him and sat down without another word. The former royal guard continued navigating through the different folders, but he slowed his pace to keep one eye on the old king's ward, lest he now have to deal with the aftermath.

But despite the shouting match that had just taken place, Ienzo appeared as unperturbed as ever. Irritation and confusion clouded his one visible eye, and his mouth had tightened into a frown, but it was hardly the sort of response one would have expected at being effectively called a monster by a respected mentor.

 _Really now. This is why Hearts are so troublesome_ , Dilan thought. He wondered if he should say something, but Ienzo broke the silence first.

"Do you think Even's right too?" he asked softly.

"I do," Dilan answered without missing a beat. "I don't agree with his actions—or Aeleus' for that matter—but I do understand where they're coming from."

"Oh." Ienzo's frown deepened, and his eye narrowed.

"The fact that you don't is, in a word, disturbing."

"I see. Is that why Aeleus looked so disappointed in me?" Ienzo asked.

At that Dilan stopped typing and turned in his chair to face Ienzo directly. Even now, the boy's voice contained only curiosity rather any genuine emotion. Dilan rolled his eyes.

"Two things," he began. "One, I don't want to hear that from someone whose Nobody fancied himself an expert on the human psyche. And two, you worked very closely with him for years. You of all people should be able to tell." Ienzo just tilted his head.

"He's not _disappointed_ in you. He pities you."

That finally brought some reaction out of Ienzo.

"Why?" he asked incredulously. "I don't have any regrets about who I am."

"And that's why. You spent the majority of your life as an incomplete being, and even before then, you never had the chance to properly grasp the concept of morality. Any normal person would be concerned." Dilan didn't consider himself a normal person, but the fact that they were even having that conversation betrayed his own thoughts on the matter.

Ienzo scowled. "I resent the implication that because I was a child when we lost our Hearts, I didn't understand right from wrong."

"That wasn't an implication," Dilan told him sternly and turned back to the computer screen. "Children learn from the adults around them. You had the fine luck of growing up with a group of madmen who believed what they were doing was right, and who, when the weight of their consciences became too heavy, chose to throw away their Hearts rather than face what'd they'd done." Dilan found a smirk coming to his face as he said that. Even if he couldn't remember the exact moment it happened, that had been true, hadn't it. Everything was so much clearer when they didn't have Hearts to worry about.

He wasn't running away like Even, or paralyzed by guilt like Aeleus, but Dilan wasn't blind to his sins either. He just didn't see the point in dwelling and arguing when Ienzo, misguided as he was, _had_ ideas for their futures.

But seeing Ienzo genuinely upset by his lack of understanding, Dilan added, "Think back. You grew particularly close to Xehanort back then. Was there anything he did that you didn't like?"

Ienzo considered those words carefully, and after a moment nodded slightly. Dilan watched him for a few moments to see if he would elaborate, but he didn't, so Dilan tried to recall what they'd made the child do. Convince Master Ansem to build the underground lab? Help banish his own adoptive father? Lure children not much older than himself to their graveyard?

Any one of those things should have made him sick to his stomach if he considered them for more than a minute.

"Hold onto those thoughts," Dilan told him. "Think them through and Even's words should become clear. You're a smart kid. You'll learn."

"I'm not a kid," Ienzo mumbled, almost petulantly. "But thanks Dilan."

"Hmph." Dilan wasn't a sap, so he easily ignored Ienzo's gratitude and continued digging through the computer files. Without the DTD Password though, he was quickly running out of things to check.

Maybe it really was a waste of time, he grimaced. He was just about ready to call it quits when Aeleus suddenly reappeared and tore Ienzo's attention away again.

"Welcome back," Ienzo said to the guard. "How's…"

"Calmer," Aeleus answered. "Just try not to antagonize him. Please?"

Ienzo opened his mouth to make an affronted retort, but then shook his head, and instead just quietly said, "Okay."

Aeleus knelt down beside him.

"How are you holding up?"

"What do you mean?"

"Even means well, but his words crossed a line. You're not heartless."

The pity really was clear in his eyes. Ienzo didn't like it.

"Oh that's water under the bridge already," he assured him brightly. "I'm perfectly alright. You don't have to worry about me."

"But—

"He said he's fine, so drop it," Dilan interrupted impatiently. The last thing he needed was for them to have a heartfelt moment with him still in the room. "More importantly, I give up." He smacked the keyboard and stood up. "Without that password, this computer is useless to us. At this point you may as well beg either the committee or the MCP."

Ienzo froze and turned to Dilan contemplatively. "Can we? The MCP, I mean."

"I thought you said it was gone?" Aeleus said with a frown.

"It is," Dilan affirmed. "Or at least, the ability to communicate with it from this terminal is. Don't know about in general."

"Then is there another terminal we could try?" Ienzo asked eagerly, and looked at the laser embedded in the wall with wide excited eyes. "Maybe we can use this?" He jumped into the emptied chair and started typing rapidly. "Yes, the Space Paranoids program is still live! If we press this here, we can go inside the datascape and…hmm, put this on a timer…no better to have someone monitor the situation… then, adjust the coordinates here…"

The cowed reticent boy immediately disappeared, replaced by a chatty, focused young scientist. Dilan and Aeleus exchanged wary glances.

"You really want to go inside the computer?" Aeleus asked, disapproval evident in his voice.

"Yes," Ienzo answered. "If we can't get answers from the terminal, let's get them from the MCP directly."

"No. It's dangerous."

"Why would it be? The MCP is our program. Programs obey their users."

"Hmph, as I recall, that program was about as stable as its designer," Dilan said. "For once, I agree with Aeleus."

"Then forget the MCP. I'll find Sark. Braig helped program that one, so it should be easier to deal with."

"That sounds like it would be the exact opposite."

"Tron perhaps could be approached," Aeleus said thoughtfully. "But he was likely deleted years ago. Even if the Restoration Committee managed to restore him, I doubt he'd want to speak with us."

"It's a _program_ Aeleus," Ienzo said rolling his eyes. "And it's perfectly safe. Here, you man the computer. I'll be in and out before you know it." He stepped in front of the laser.

"No," Aeleus stepped in from of him. "If it means that much to you, Dilan and I will go. You stay here."

"Why am I being volunteered?" Dilan snapped. "If he wants to go, let him."

"What if something happens?" Aeleus demanded, not backing down.

"Then it was nice knowing you two."

"Nothing will happen," Ienzo insisted.

"You can't know that."

"Well neither can you!" Ienzo suddenly snapped. He hadn't even raised his voice when Even was yelling at him earlier, so this caught the two of them off-guard. "I can take care of myself Aeleus. I don't need your stupid pity."

Aeleus looked as though he'd been struck. Dilan pinched the bridge of his nose. _Twice in one hour now._

"I'm going," Ienzo said quietly and stepped in front of the laser again. His face was hidden. Aeleus clenched his jaw and silently stepped behind him.

 _Devoted stalwart to the end, huh._ Dilan sighed heavily.

"Aeleus, take the computer. I'll go," he said approaching the laser. In response to his old partner's glare, he added. "You know damn well who between us can keep a cooler head right now. Don't worry, I'll bring your little prince back safe and sound. Kicking and screaming if I have to." Ienzo bristled, but didn't look up or turn around. Unlike before, this time it seemed he really was affected.

No, maybe Even's words, and Dilan's own subsequent lecture, had stung more than he'd showed.

Aeleus stared at his back for a long tense minute, before stepping back. "Very well," he said calmly and nodded at Dilan. "Be careful," he said gently to Ienzo, and then took his place in front of the computer. A few keystrokes later, the laser whirred to life, and the last thing Dilan saw was a bright red flash.

* * *

When he opened his eyes again, the world was blue. Wireframe walls surrounded them, and lines of blue light pulsed all around them. To Dilan's surprise, even _he_ was blue. His guardsman uniform had transformed into a blue tunic matching the environment, and his braids had been neatly tucked into a helmet that now covered his head.

"Incredible," Ienzo breathed out beside him, previous anger forgotten. He was blue as well, the helmet pressing his uneven hair even closer to his eye. He didn't seem to care though as he walked around the room feeling the walls. "I never could have imagined this!"

"Where are we?" Dilan demanded. The space around them was completely empty aside from the terminal in the corner. Ienzo approached it.

"According to this, we're at the I/O Tower. We should be able to reach the MCP's core if we head down from here."

"Good, then let's do that and get out."

"Don't you want to explore first? This place is amazing! Look! Even our clothes changed!"

"No." Dilan didn't like how easily the environment had warped him. His body felt lighter than it should have, the familiar weight of his braids were missing from his back, and the color scheme hurt his eyes. Cautiously he summoned one lance, just to make sure he could. Even the lance was blue.

There didn't appear to be any hostile entities around, but Dilan still kept an eye out as he followed Ienzo. The place was far too empty for his liking.

But as he watched Ienzo wander around with childlike wonder, he realized it was for the best.

"Hey Dilan," Ienzo suddenly said. "Did I go too far?"

"We're not discussing this," Dilan said warningly. "I didn't follow you here for a therapy session."

"I know," he said. "You're here to protect me."

"No, I'm here to protect myself. If you get killed, I don't fancy my own life will last much longer," Dilan grumbled sarcastically.

"So why step in for Aeleus?"

"Did you want him here instead?"

"…No." Ienzo admitted after a pause. "But I didn't mean to snap at him. I was just…frustrated."

"Yes. Frankly, I'm glad to see you're reacting like a normal person for once. But if your only two settings are robot and histrionics, I'd prefer the robot."

"Gee, thanks."

"I stepped in for Aeleus, because I didn't feel like monitoring a soap opera and if it _is_ dangerous here, your petty emotions will only get in the way." Ienzo could pretend he didn't care all he liked. But Aeleus would never have stopped trying to get through to him no matter how detrimental it would have been.

"I will say this though. Punish someone for caring, and soon you won't have anyone left," Dilan warned him.

Ienzo didn't ask any more questions after that. He led the way and reported on his observations, but their trip through the Solar Sailer Simulation to the Central Computer Mesa was a quick, quiet, and overall uneventful affair.

It was when they finally reached the Central Computer that something finally happened.

"Halt!" an unfamiliar voice suddenly called behind them. The stranger had some sort of weapon pointed at their backs, Dilan could sense. He sneered and summoned all six of his spears around him, startling their assailant, and getting his attention off Ienzo long enough for Dilan to shove the scientist to the floor and lunge.

He only had enough time to turn around and send his spears flying before Ienzo yelled. "Dilan, don't! It's Tron!"

It was too late to call the spears off, but at Ienzo's cry, Dilan stumbled back and willed the spears off course. One of them bounced against their attacker's Frisbee-like shield, knocking him backwards but the rest harmlessly flew past him and bounced against the walls with a static flash.

It was indeed Tron, Dilan noted in surprise as Ienzo ran over to the blue humanoid program and helped him back on his feet. Dilan recalled five of his spears in response, but let the sixth hover nearby, just in case.

"Yes, I am Tron," the program said, looking Ienzo over. "Are you two Users?"

"Yes, that's right," Ienzo said excitedly. "I don't know if you remember us, but I'm Ienzo, and that's Dilan. We were Master Ansem's apprentices."

"Ansem?" Something in Tron's demeanor immediately shifted and he took a step back. He didn't look like he would attack again, but something in his movements struck Dilan as hostility.

"I apologize for my sudden attack," Tron said. "We detected two unknown entities suddenly rushing to the MCP's core, and, naturally, that made us concerned."

"Concerned? Why?" Ienzo asked.

 _Naturally?_ Dilan thought with a raised brow.

"Why, it was not too long ago that the MCP attempted to destroy Radiant Garden. We were able to stop its plans then, but if someone were to bring it back again, then that would be a disaster!"

"Destroy the Garden?" Dilan frowned at the same moment that Ienzo said, "The MCP is really gone?"

"Yes," Tron replied looking at both of them to indicate that it was the same answer for both of their questions. "The MCP attempted to take control of the system and use the transporter to flood the User world with Heartless. A User named Cid wrote a program to halt its movements and then my User friends Sora, Donald, and Goofy helped me de-rezz the rogue program once and for all."

"The Keyblade Wielder was here?" Dilan grimaced. Ienzo just looked confused. "The MCP did that? On whose orders?"

"Nobody's," Tron replied. "The MCP did not wish to serve the Users any longer and launched the attack on its own initiative."

"Incredible…" Ienzo muttered contemplatively, as Dilan sucked in a deep breath. Definitely as stable as it's damn programmer.

"I suppose we owe you and the Committee our thanks for keeping the Garden safe then," Ienzo said earnestly. "Is there anything else that happened in our absence? Is Sark still around?"

"No," Tron answered. "Commander Sark served the MCP. He too attacked us and had to be de-rezzed."

 _And about what we could expect from_ his _creation,_ Dilan thought bitterly.

"Oh," Ienzo said. "Then that may complicate things."

Dilan didn't like the way Tron was watching the two of them, and instinctively moved his floating spear closer to Ienzo.

"Tron, then perhaps you can help us. We're looking for the password to the DTD. Do you know it?"

"I do."

Ienzo's face lit up. "Excellent. What is it?"

"I cannot tell you."

"What? Why not?"

"As a security program, I cannot allow any harm to come to the system. I do not know what you wish to do, Apprentices of Ansem, but I will not allow you free access."

"How wonderful. A program with free thought," Dilan remarked dryly, Aeleus' words echoing back to him. Ienzo was undeterred however.

"Tron, we are your Users. Tell us the password."

"Ansem the Wise was my User," Tron said evenly. "Now, however, he is my enemy. My programming places the safety of humanity above the orders of individuals. I cannot obey those who may try to harm the Garden."

"Ansem the Wise… _Master Ansem_ …your _enemy_?" Ienzo's eyes widened as he sputtered out those words, and if he wasn't blue, Dilan might have thought the color was draining from his face. He stepped back, hand at his chin in deep thought. Dilan turned to face Tron.

"We haven't even told you what we're trying to do," he pointed out. "How awfully quick for your Zeroth Law to kick in."

"You came here looking for the MCP," was the simple reply. "My logic circuits therefore conclude that you are allies of the Ansem who programmed him."

"It was never designed to take over the Garden," Ienzo muttered. "Only the system…"

"Not helping, Ienzo," Dilan snapped at him, as Tron's glare intensified.

"I will not tell you the password to the DTD, but if there is any other way I can assist you today…"

"Can you access the DTD yourself?" Dilan asked.

"Yes."

"Then can you grant our terminal access to the research files inside?" he asked. "Nothing about the Hollow Bastion OS. Nothing about Garden security. Nothing about whatever the hell the MCP tried to do. Just our research notes. Read-only is fine."

Tron looked at Dilan carefully, and then at Ienzo who was still pacing a few feet away.

"What do you intend to do with that information?"

 _Why do you care?_ Dilan thought irritated, but he cleared his throat and decided a truthful answer was best here. "We have reason to believe there were files stored there that we were unaware of. Someone's _private_ research, if you will. We need to be made aware of them." He didn't expect a program to be able to pick on his disdain, but surprisingly, Tron nodded along with him.

"Understood," he said. "Please come with me to the Dataspace. I will open whatever files you wish to see."

"Appreciated," Dilan said, and finally sheathed his final spear. "Ienzo, we're going."

"R-right," the scientist replied, still lost in thought.

* * *

Tron turned out to be a highly chatty program. If he held any suspicion or resentment towards them, he didn't let it show as he helpfully explained what it was that went down in the Garden a year earlier, and the upgrades and security measures that had since been put in place. Nothing that they would be able to take advantage of, of course, but it was immensely helpful to finally have a proper report of at least some of what they'd missed in their home world.

It also proved a welcome distraction for Dilan from Ienzo's sudden sulking. He hadn't said a word since their first conversation with Tron, and every now and then Dilan had to look back to make sure he was still following.

"Here we are," Tron said leading them into a room that vaguely resembled their own computer lab, though with more colors and three screens around them. "I will pull up the data you seek, and if you deem anything useful, I shall download it to your machine."

"Thank you, that will be helpful," Dilan said. When Ienzo still didn't reply, he clapped him on the back, hard. "Pay attention. You wanted this data, so you're going through it too."

"Is everything all right?" Tron asked Ienzo. "If your functions are somehow impaired, we can run a scan."

"I'm fine," Ienzo said quietly. "Let's just get started."

"Very well." The two screens on the sides of the room suddenly came to life with different reports suddenly populating their displays. "Please allow ten to twelve microcycles for me to sort through the data," Tron said. "We discovered some time ago that large portions of the files were corrupted, so there may be little left to pull up."

"Of course they were," Dilan grumbled and studied the materials on the screens carefully. Time sheets, charts, material lists, personnel records—all logistical things, but very few actual reports on their work. Even, at the very least, should have saved very detailed reports but none of those were coming up. And, of course, nothing from Xehanort or Braig.

"Is this really everything?" Ienzo asked. "That can't be right."

"This is everything we retain access to," Tron clarified.

"Can you download it all? It's not much, but we should be able to tell if anything is out of place in these records."

"Understood."

"If anything's out of place?" Dilan frowned. "Do you even remember details this trivial?"

"Even might," Ienzo said. "He may remember what we were testing here too."

Dilan decided against pointing out that Even had made it repeatedly clear that he was not going to help them with anything relating to their old research, and instead made a note to be far outside the Castle when Ienzo decided to take it up with the shrill scientist again.

"Is there anything here about Nobodies?" Ienzo asked Tron next. "We weren't actively researching them back then, so anything of that nature may be suspect."

"Searching…"

The query returned several corrupted files.

"I apologize, but we cannot open these," Tron said.

"No, just the fact that they exist at all is very telling," Dilan said. "Run a query on these terms next: Keyblade, Kingdom Hearts, Organization XIII, The World That Never Was, Castle Oblivion, Chamber of Repose."

All requests returned corrupted files.

"Hmph, looks like you were right," Dilan told Ienzo, whose visible eye widened with each new result. "Plenty of fun things behind our backs."

"The Keyblade and Kingdom Hearts can be expected…possibly the Chamber of Repose as well…but the rest…Tron, please try one more term," Ienzo said, seriously. "Chamber of Waking."

"What's that?" Dilan asked with a frown.

"I'll explain later."

This term returned only two results. Surprisingly though, only one of them was corrupted.

"Oh," Tron said. "This is unexpected." He clicked on the second file only for a password prompt to pop up. "Another password?" Tron entered a few terms but each one was rejected.

"What's going on?" Dilan asked coming closer to the main screen.

"I don't know what this file is," Tron explained. "Let me try to see where it's located."

A few clicks revealed a unforeseen answer. A folder named "Braig".

"A hidden file," Tron explained. "Buried very deep inside the other folders. But I don't know the password to open it."

"Braig," Dilan said immediately. "Xigbar, Freeshooter, Der Freischütz—one and two words—Arrowgun, Sharpshooter, Marksman, all of the above backwards, Swordfish."

"Swordfish?" Ienzo asked bemused.

"It's a reference," Dilan explained. "Also try Password."

Tron tried every one of those, but each one returned an error.

Dilan scowled.

"It seems that unlike Master Ansem and Xehanort, Braig actually knew what a password is," Ienzo said with a weary smile.

"Good for him, bad for us."

"Indeed. Tron, is there any way you can force entry into that folder?"

"My apologies, but that's impossible. I am not authorized to tamper with personal data, and even if I were, not even the MCP had been able to access the DTD without its password. It is unlikely I would be able to."

"I see, never mind then," Ienzo said. "I wonder if Sark might have known it."

"Regrettably, we cannot find that out now," Tron said.

"Yes," Ienzo sighed. "What do you think Dilan? Is this enough for now?"

"That's your call," Dilan reminded him.

"Oh, right. Tron, can you please download our search history and send that to us as well, along with the number of results each query yielded."

"Of course."

"This should be enough to start investigating," Ienzo said. "If we think of any other terms to look up or that password, may we return?"

"Of course," Tron said. "You can return to this world via the terminal, or you can send any queries to me directly. I will grant your computer that level of access, Apprentices of Ansem."

The title stung like an insult.

"Thank you."

"If that is all for now, allow me to escort you back to the User world. There is a terminal we can use in the Cells."

"Cells? As in prison cells?"

"Not originally, but it became such when the MCP took over."

"Oh," Again, Ienzo grew despondent. He lingered behind for a few moments, before suddenly running in front of Tron.

"Wait, Tron, there's something you need to know," Ienzo said and suddenly bowed his head. "Tron, I am so, so, sorry. All of us. We never meant for this to happen!"

 _Oh?_ Dilan crossed his arms behind him and watched carefully. Finally it seemed the mask had crumbled and all semblance of aloofness had vanished from Ienzo's face. He looked dangerously close to tears.

"I don't understand." Tron said.

"Ansem the Wise is not your enemy. He never was. The "Ansem" who made the MCP was us. We banished our king and took his name. Everything that happened to you and this world—that almost happened to Radiant Garden—that _did_ happen to Radiant Garden was our fault. Please…don't blame Master Ansem."

Ienzo's shoulders were shaking, and it looked like all his strength would leave him.

"I see…" Tron said contemplatively. "Then, where is my User now?"

"I don't know," Ienzo whispered. "I'd like to think he's alive somewhere, but I don't know."

 _The last I know, he was working under an alias trying to get revenge on us,_ Dilan thought, realizing that perhaps he too had some revelations to share with his comrades who'd met earlier ends.

"I see," Tron said again, and let out what could only be called a sigh of relief. "So it wasn't him after all. I'm…glad."

Ienzo didn't lift his head, and just muttered another apology.

"I appreciate you telling me this," Tron said. "I can see it wasn't easy for you."

Ienzo nodded slowly.

"I never understood…how much harm we really did…what…what have we _done_?"

There it was. He finally got it, Dilan found himself smiling despite himself. Why Even lashed out every time their research was mentioned. Why Aeleus was ready to do anything that was asked of him. Why Dilan missed not having a Heart more than he had missed having it.

Ienzo—young, sheltered, protected Ienzo had never had to directly face anyone he'd hurt before.

Wordlessly, he approached the young scientist, and placed a hand on his back. "Let's go."

Tron led the way, a lighter spring to his step than when he'd escorted the two of them before, as if the knowledge that Ansem the Wise had never betrayed him was all he needed to start trusting his apprentices.

Ienzo had finally lifted his head. To Dilan's relief he wasn't crying, though he didn't look any less miserable.

"You alright?" Dilan asked.

"No," Ienzo said bluntly. "My chest feels like it's being crushed."

"Yeah, you'll get used to that."

"How?"

"I told you, you're a smart kid. You'll learn."

"Is this what you three have been feeling all this time?"

"In varying intensities, yes. Ask Aeleus when we get back."

"All this time, the way I've been acting…the way I treated him…"

"Eh, I'm sure he's already forgiven you. 50 Munny says we'll find him sobbing from joy."

Ienzo stopped.

"What?"

Dilan snorted. "What, didn't you know? He can see everything we've been doing here."

" _Everything!?_ "

"Ienzo, what do you think monitoring the program meant in this case?"

"L-life signs! Locations! File access! N-not, you know…"

Amazingly, a pink blush was breaking through the blue.

"Audio too?"

"Audio too."

"How are you not mortified?"

"Why should I be? _I_ didn't make an ass of myself."

"The terminal is ready," Tron said calmly, beckoning them over.

"Wait, Tron, I thought of a few more search queries we could try! Passwords too. If you have some time, maybe an eternity or two, I'd like to—

"Oh no you don't," Dilan grabbed the back of his collar. "I am going back. And I promised I'd bring you back safe and sound."

"But there's really so much more I can—

"Kicking and screaming if I have to."

* * *

 **A/N** : Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it!

I've been replaying KH2 recently, and I just really love the Space Paranoids world for both being based on Tron, and just it's entire place in the Lore of the KH. It's one of the few worlds where we really get to have the Disney and FF halves of the franchise interacting. It's great, and fingers crossed that Tron gets any sort of acknowledgment in KH3.

I also really love the apprentices and am really looking forward to their roles in KH3. Ienzo & Vexen(!) are confirmed to be back, but what about the Aeleus and everyone's favorite KH2 boss? Allies? Norts? I want to knooooow  
But anyway, since I'm not really sure the franchise will explore the Apprentices and what it means for them to be recompleted, I've had fun speculating the different ways they'd cope with their pasts and their Hearts, and from that this fic was born.  
A replay of KH coupled with the novels suddenly makes you notice...things...  
(the Apprentices are all horrible people)


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